Putting the "War" in "Warrensberg," 2012 edition

Back in 2011, I offered an eyewitness account of one of the greatest fights ever to take place at a church conference between offspring of The Hungry Preacher which involved padded pugil sticks and a giant inflatable fighting arena.  Thanks to the miracle of Pay-Per-View, millions were able to witness this year's rematch, "Monkey 1 v. Monkey 2, II: the re-pugiling."

For those who blew all their pay-per-view coinage on the Bradley-Pacquiao fight, here are some snapshots from the re-pugiling.

The missing tooth was non-fight related

Pre-fight morale was high for both fighters.

They're all smiles now, but that part of the weigh-in where they stare at each other with their faces an inch apart?  It was verrrry tense.

"willpreachforfood.com" was actually not my first domain choice, but "willofferjoustingtipsforfood.com" was already taken, darn the luck.

Last year was all about not being able to stay balanced.  This year was all about not having the arm strength to extend the pugil stick far enough to make contact.

This was the closest thing to a knock-out blow in the whole fight.  Well, to any type of blow, really.

Here I'm seriously considering stopping the fight.  Not because of the reasons one usually stops a fight, but because there was a long line of people waiting to have a turn, and my girls had been going for about 4 minutes without having landed a single blow.

Moments earlier:
THE HUNGRY PREACHER: Sweep the leg.  Do you have a problem with that?
MONKEY 2: No, sensei.
THE HUNGRY PREACHER: No mercy.

Timber!

Remember, win or lose, it's all about striking a cliched pose so as to communicate your elation or agony in a visually concise manner.

Here are some bonus shots from after the main event.  In this competition, the Monkeys were strapped to one another with an elastic cord.  They were each given a ball and a basket to shoot for.  If one "drove to the hoop," the other one--theoretically, at least--would be yanked backwards by the cord.

Here, Monkey 2 is moving so fast, even the camera can't stop her movement.  (The spectators, the playing surface, and the building were also moving incredibly fast.)

She has her mommy's smile and her daddy's "ups"

She told me later, "I wasn't flopping--I was just trying to help the refs see the consequences of what actually happened."

These last two can be printed out and put together as a flip book.  What you will see is positively Jordan-esque.

Will there be a "Monkey 1 v. Monkey 2, III"?  We'll see, but check back next June just in case.

-THP